Tag Archives: heart

2 Kings 11:8–Station yourselves around the king, each of you with a weapon in hand. Anyone who approaches your ranks is o be put to death. Stay close to the king wherever he goes.

TRUTH:

This illustrates such a great point. Often in our lives we will have other things that are trying to be the “king” of our life. Money, fame, possessions, family, and power are all examples of things that try to take over. Each and every day we have to make the choice to place Jesus Christ in the position of King of our life. However, most of us stop there. We don’t take steps to safe-guard that spot and we leave ourselves vulnerable to attack by all these other things that are trying to overthrow Jesus for our focus and attention. In this chapter, we see then looking to place the rightful king on the throne, but they go even father to secure and fortify his position so that there can’t be any sneak attacks by the enemy seeking to overthrow the king. Are we fortifying our positions and making sure that we’re not just placing Jesus on the throne of our hearts, but ensuring that other temptations don’t have room to sneak back in and steal back the top spot?

RESPONSE:

Father, My heart belongs to You. You are the only One that I seek and Yours is the only leadership I desire. I will block every effort of the enemy to steal back the top spot of focus in my heart and mind. I belong to You and You are welcome to do with me exactly as You please.

1 Samuel 16:7–But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

TRUTH:

Have we looked in the mirror today? Many times we will use a mirror to review our outward appearance. However, do we ever use a spiritual mirror to review our heart? God look at our heart; what does He see? We can review our spiritual appearance through the reflection of God’s Word. How do we look today?

RESPONSE

Father, I desire to look beautiful in Your sight, in the heart. I want my spiritual reflection to be more important to me than my physical reflection. Help me be a person after Your own heart.

1 Samuel 13:14–But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.

TRUTH:

Saul was disobedient to God, even after God had been very clear about his need for obedience. As a result, God explains that Saul’s reign will not endure and his children will not be king after him. God is always looking for a person after His own heart. Are we someone who is constantly seeking after the heart of God?

RESPONSE

Father, I desire to seek after You and Your heart. I know that You are the one who will be over everything that I do and I desire to glorify and praise You through my obedience to You.

Matthew 15:18–But the things that comes out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.

TRUTH:

What thoughts actually slip out of our mouths? When we say thins we are voicing the innermost beliefs and ideas that we have. These are the things that show what our hearts truly believe. If our hearts are sinful, our words will mimic that. When we say evil and mean things, we are simply reflecting the evil and mean thoughts we have held in our hearts. What will our words reflect about us today?

RESPONSE:

Father, I praise You and desire that my words reveal a heart that reflects You. Thank You for all that You have done for me and keep me focused on You so that my heart only thinks things that point people to You.

Proverbs 4:23–Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

TRUTH:

This is so true! Throughout the day, situations will occur that will try to attack our heart and make us angry or sad or bitter. We must not allow our heart to be swayed from its focus on Jesus. Everything we do is an outflowing from our heart. If we are harboring bitterness and anger in our heart, then that is what will flow from our speech or our actions. The first place that Satan will attack is our heart because he knows if he can cause us to sin there, that will flow out to all other areas of our life. We must guard our heart and keep it focused only on the things of God.

RESPONSE:

Father, take my heart and guard it. You are the only One capable of keeping it safe from harm. You are the only One I want to focus on, so I give my heart to You to protect. I desire that everything I do and say flow naturally from You.

Exodus 7:23–Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart.

TRUTH:

God brought about the first plague on the Egyptians, yet Pharaoh didn’t listen or even act like he cared. He hardened his heart, just like God said he would, but even more than that, he took a “whatever” attitude toward the situation. His apathy about the movement of God was the most difficult stance that he could take. Do we look at all that God does with a sense of excitement and wonder, or are we apathetic and don’t care? God will bring about His work and we must take His actions to heart.

RESPONSE:

Father, help me to stay interested and excited about what You are doing. I pray You will keep my heart soft and allow me to listen and respond to all that You are doing in my life.

Jeremiah 24:7–I will give them a heart to know me; that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

TRUTH:

Two baskets of figs, one good and one bad. The bad figs will be destroyed, but the good figs will be saved. God says that He will give those people represented by the good figs a new heart. They will recognize the Lord and they will seek after Him and follow Him. They will be called His people. Do we seek after God? Do we have a heart that yearns for knowing God more?

RESPONSE:

Father, I seek You and desire that You renew me and give me a new heart. I desire to know You more and more every day.

Ezekiel 36:26–I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

TRUTH:

When we come to the Lord with repentance, He changes us. We are not the same when we leave. God takes us and gives us a new heart. Before we come to Him, we have a heart that is often concerned about only ourselves and our own interests. God changes us so that we are able to feel again and so we are concerned about Him and His interests. God wants us to be touched and moved by the things that touch and move Him. He is the only one who can affect change in our heart and we must come to Him to allow Him to do that in us.

RESPONSE:

Father, I pray You will continually renew the heart of flesh You gave me so many years ago. Please take me and make me new. I love You and desire that You are seen through all my actions.

Ezekiel 11:19–I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

TRUTH:

The Lord, speaking to Ezekiel, tells him that even with the judgment that He is bringing on Israel, God will not completely destroy them. God will restore the remnant of people who turn back to Him. God then states in this verse that He will give them a new heart. He will take the old, hard heart and replace it with a new, soft heart that is capable of being moved and prompted by the Spirit of God. Are we following God and being moved and impressed upon by Him? Do we have a heart of stone or have we allowed Him to give us a heart of flesh?

RESPONSE:

Father, I want to be moved and touched by the things that move and touch You. I desire Your heart in all things. Remove any remaining part of my heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh!